This I Believe

When Cindy Bee was a young girl, she spent some time with her great aunt who was a beautician in a small town. Sitting outside her aunt's beauty shop, Ms. Bee learned the power of paying a compliment.

Dan Libman believes in being uncomfortable. He came upon this as a guiding principle while preparing for a week-long bicycle trip in the Rocky Mountains, where comfort is hard to find.

Cheryl L. Dukes grew up in the military, and when her father received new orders, the family packed up and said goodbye quickly.

Kate Debiec's father had a knack for making friends with strangers quickly. After her father passed away, Ms. Debiec realized the importance of the legacy he had left her.

When Seth Chalmer was an adolescent, he regularly endured numerous and lengthy lectures from his father. After relaying one particular story of an incident on the middle school playground, Chalmer got one of the shortest lectures ever.

It was a sad day when Jay Hasheider helped his son pack and get ready to move away to college. But one moment of joy amidst the sadness was a gift for both father and son.

From the moment Jeff Sloan became a father, his priorities shifted as he felt the weight of his new responsibilities. What he didn't realize on Day One was how much he would learn about himself and about life through being a dad.

When Kara Gebhart Uhl was faced with a decision of being honest or being kind, she chose to be honest. Later, she came to believe that it's possible to be both at the same time.

As an adoptive mother, Julie Sellers knows there is another woman somewhere in the world to whom she owes a debt of gratitude for giving her the life—and the family—she has.

When a close friend was diagnosed with cancer, Kim Trevisani thought of all the little things her friend would miss while in the hospital. Today, Kim has come to appreciate the little moments of her daily routine.

When writer Patty Dann learned her husband was terminally ill, she struggled with what to tell her young son. A wise nurse showed her a way to talk to him about his father's impending death.

Lisa Tucker McElroy says she didn't really know much before she became a mother. But now that she has children, she's learning everything she needs to know about life.

As a young boy in France, Jay Frankston witnessed the rise of Hitler’s anti-Semitism leading up to the war and the Holocaust. The experience of watching so many people stand by and do nothing affirmed his belief in speaking up against wrongs.

I believe in “This I Believe.” In the several years that I have been listening, I have heard other people express their beliefs with clarity, insight, eloquence, humor and even forcefulness.

When Sherry Medwin gave her 12th grade honors students the This I Believe essay assignment, she was met with a classroom full of bewildered students, unsure of how to write about belief. Ms. Medwin has come to believe that students should be given the freedom to express their personal values.